Key and lock set

ABSTRACT

A key and lock set include: an electronic key without a built-in a power source; a lock openable by the electronic key but not openable by a mechanic key, having a power source shared with the electronic key; and an electronic key reader configured to read an identification of the electronic key; wherein: the lock is configured to be opened by the electronic key upon the identification matches an identification of the lock; and the identification of the electronic key and the identification of the lock are programmable and configured to be paired.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/109,428 filed on Sep. 5, 2016, which is a national stage ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2014/094952 filed on Dec. 25, 2014,which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application Nos. 201410190211.6filed on May 8, 2014, 201410045804.3 filed on Feb. 10, 2014, and201310744115.7 filed on Dec. 31, 2013. The disclosures of theseapplications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Car keys were previously mechanical keys to unlock door locks and startengines. Due to the poor security performance, now mechanical keys arenot used a lot. For present new cars, remote keyless entry and keylessstart system are mainly used. A key of remote keyless entry is herecalled remote key. A key of keyless start system is here called smartkey. The remote key and smart key are electronic keys. Remote key andsmart key internally include key security chip, so that their anti-theftperformance is good in many cases. However, their anti-theft performancebecomes even worse than the previous mechanical key if the electronickeys are lost. For example, the person who stole the remote key or smartkey can easily find the car by pressing the door unlocking button from afar away distance and drive the car away. The remote key and smart keystill include the mechanical key. When an old car is sold, the previouscar owner can still open the car door with a spare mechanical key. Ifthe mechanical key is lost, disabling the mechanical key takes time andmoney a lot. If the mechanical key is not disabled, whoever picked upthe mechanical key can always take away the property inside the car.Remote key and smart key cannot be made for spare in most key stores,and the making in special stores takes high price and long time. Remotekey and smart key are expensive. In comparison with mechanical key,remote key and smart key have poor waterproof, poor impact resistance,poor anti-electromagnetic interference ability, poor reliability becauseof built-in battery. Remote key and smart key are large and heavy, notconvenient to carry.

Similar problems exist for the electronic keys for car, train,motorcycle, ship, aircraft and other vehicles, building, courtyard,safe, suitcase, bookcase, distribution box, equipment cabinet, drawer,container and other boxes and cabinets, padlock, chain lock and otherindependent locks.

Also, sometimes people forget and leave car mechanical key and remotekey inside the car and lock the doors. The keys may also be lost. Whenthe owner could not open the door and seek others for help, the ownerneeds spend time and money with psychological uneasiness. Especially,remote key and smart key are not interchangeable among carmanufacturers, and the price is very expensive, so that many people arereluctant to spend money to buy spare car remote key and smart key.

In order to solve this problem, some cars mount an electronic keypadoutside car door. However, most car electronic keypads are built-in typeand expensive. The installation and removal generally are difficult forordinary people and need professionals to do. Some cars mount electronickeypad with double-sided tape or adhesive outside car, however it iseasily lost or stolen by other people. The present electronic keypad canunlock car door but cannot start engine. Therefore, now total popularityrate of automobile electronic keypad is very low. In addition, somehouse doors mount keypad door lock, but keypad and lock are notseparated, installation and removal are complicated, with high cost andpoor water resistance.

There are previous patents as follows. U.S. Pat. No. 7,362,211 B2,Huntzicker, F. W., 22 Apr. 2008. Door frame is used to preventradio-electronic keypad from being stolen or lost, but the shape of thedoor frame is complicated, electronic keypad is still easy to lose, andeasy to be squeezed to break by the door. U.S. Pat. No. 7,595,718 B2,Chen, T. H., 2 Sep. 2009. There are protrusions outside installationstructure of electronic keypads, which occupy door edge space. It isinconvenient to use, and the installation is not firm. U.S. Pat. No.8,410,897 B2, Popelard A., 2 Apr. 2013. Electronic keypad is mounted oncar door handle. Installation and removal need professionals, and thecost is expensive. U.S. Patent No. US 20060238385 A1, Steenwyk, T. E.,et al, 26 Oct. 2006, Electronic keypad is mounted on car mirror. Repairand replacement need professionals, and the cost is expensive.

In addition, when people leave home or a car, an item that is most oftencarried is a key. Keys have the type of mechanical key, electronic cardkey, remote control key, etc. In order to do unified management of keys,many people bundle several keys to a keychain and carry together.However, except for unlocking and locking, keys are not useful. Akeychain with several keys, if coupled with one or more large car remotecontrol key, its volume becomes large and its weight increases a lot.People feel inconvenient to place a large heavy keychain in their clothpocket. The case becomes worse when they also carry other items, or whenthey do exercise, jogging, gymnastics, etc.

On the other hand, mobile phones, smartphones, tablet PCs and othersmart watches and portable electrical appliances are also the mostcommonly carried several items. These items are versatile items withmany uses, many things cannot be done without them. Thus, people like tocarry them.

If mobile phones, smartphones, smart watches, tablet PCs and otherportable appliances increase key feature, especially a portableelectrical appliance has the feature of several keys and is able tounlock several locks, it becomes much more convenient for people carryand manage articles. However, since it does not work withoutelectricity, the key function of mobile phone etc. is still not widelyused.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to key and lock systems, which can beused to car, train, motorcycle, ship, aircraft and other vehicles,building, courtyard, safe, suitcase, bookcase, distribution box,equipment cabinet, drawer, container and other boxes and cabinets,padlock, chain lock and other independent locks. The above-mentionedproblems are the current technology deficiencies. Various embodimentsdisclosed herein provide a key and lock system with good anti-theftperformance, time saving, less worry, low price, high reliability andease use.

In an aspect, keys and locks are provided including:

-   one type or more of non-powered electronic key among non-powered    magnetic card key, non-powered contact type IC card key, non-powered    contactless card-shaped RFID tag key, non-powered contactless    card-shaped RFID tag key, non-powered contactless other shape RFID    tag key, and their integrated hybrid electronic key for vehicle    lock;-   electronic key identifier mounted on vehicle; and-   one or more of vehicle electronic door lock and vehicle anti-theft    system electronic lock;-   wherein the key is identified by the key identifier to unlock the    lock.

In some embodiments, the keys and locks include:

-   one type or more of non-powered electronic key, powered electronic    key, electronic passcode key and biometric for lock;-   one type or more of electronic key identifier and input keypad; and-   vehicle electronic door lock, building electronic door lock, box or    cabinet electronic door lock, or independent electronic lock;-   wherein the key is identified by the key identifier to unlock the    lock, no matter whether or not unlock vehicle anti-theft system    electronic lock; and-   the key identifier, the keypad or the lock, no matter whether or not    powered by internal power supply, is powered by one type or more of    ambient light solar power generation module, manual mechanical power    generation module, thermoelectric power generation module, external    replaceable battery mounted on one or more of wall, window, door of    the vehicle, building, cabinet, the key identifier, the keypad and    the lock, and external battery only for key and lock system through    an external power connector mounted on the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the keys and locks include:

-   a rotary mechanical passcode door lock or push-button mechanical    passcode door lock in a vehicle.

All of the electronic door locks of vehicle, building, box or cabinet,or electronic door lock of suite cabin, single cabin, suite room orsingle room are not the locks that are unlockable by mechanical key.

The electronic key reader, electronic passcode input keyboard, orbiometric identifier, installed on one place or more inside or outsidethe vehicle, building, box, cabinet or independent electronic lock, dowired or wireless communication with the electronic door locks orindependent electronic lock or electronic lock of vehicle anti-theftsystem; and

-   their electric power source, commonly shared with the electronic    door lock or independent electronic lock or separately, is powered    by one or more of the internal power supply, power generation    module, replaceable battery and external battery.

The powered electronic key, an electronic passcode key, or biometricidentification device, is portable; and

-   their electric power source, is powered by one or more of the power    generation module, removable and non-removable battery.

The electronic key, electronic keyboard or biometric identifier, is afunction of a portable electrical device, with one or more of built-inelectronic key device and software;

-   by entering a passcode or without passcode, do unlocking by one or    more of remote control, hands-free and hand-held approaching.

The lock unlockable by the portable key or portable electronic device,is unlocked by one or more of the electronic key identifier, electronicpasscode keyboard, and biometric identifiers with mounting on sameobject.

Portable remote key with built-in battery, keyless start system key withbuilt-in battery, independent electronic lock, or other portableelectronic device with key function, is sealed by one or more of rubberO ring pressing, rubber gasket pressing, plastic housing integrallymolding, plastic welding, metal welding and bonding, in order to preventwater and gas from outside into interior.

For vehicle door lock or vehicle anti-theft system lock, owner himselfis able to pair electronic key, or register passcode, or registerbiometric, with one or more of following characteristics:

-   (1) mechanical passcode registration of mechanical code door locks,    need to be done inside or outside door after the door is opened; and-   (2) electronic key pairing, or electronic passcode registration or    biometric registration, need to use one or more of pairing    mechanical key, magnet card key, IC card key, RFID tag key, pairing    passcode and biometric.

Owner sets limited valid period or limited valid times of a non-poweredelectronic key, or powered electronic key for vehicle lock.

On the outer surface of a portable, non-powered or powered, originalauthentic electronic key, there is no any brand identity or modelidentity of vehicle, building, building door lock, cabinet, box, cabinetlock, box lock, or independent electronic lock.

In some embodiments, the keys and locks include:

-   an electronic passcode input keyboard key that is used to unlock    vehicle or building lock mounted on the mounting hole on outer wall    of vehicle or building;-   the keyboard is operated from outside by people, but is not able to    be removed or opened from outside; and-   the keyboard is able to be removed or replaced from inside, by    regular people directly seeing mounting fastener or its cover    without need of special manual.

The keyboard is mounted by screw, nut or mounting pin, to one or moremounting holes on people's access door, cargo door, cabinet door, boxdoor and their surroundings.

The keyboard housing is sealed by one or more sealing process of rubberring pressing, plastic molding, plastic welding, metal welding andadhesive bonding, in order to get waterproof.

In some embodiments, the keys and locks include:

-   an optical type electronic passcode input keyboard key that is used    to unlock vehicle or building lock, with each button having a pair    of light emitter and light receiver close to each other;-   inside the light emitter and light receiver, a lens or aperture is    mounted close to the light-emitting surface and photosensitive    surface, to reduce the light emission angle and light receiving    angle; and-   when the key is touched by a pointing object, the reflection of the    pointing object makes the light emitted from the light emitter into    the light receiver.

The optical keyboard having one or more features as follows:

-   (1) a band-pass filter layer with the light emitting wavelength is    mounted close to the surface of the light receiver in order to block    ambient light with other wavelengths from entering the light    receiver;-   (2) the light emitter gives a high frequency pulse light and the    light receiver receives the pulse light while filtering ambient    light of approximate direct current;-   (3) the light emitter is a light emitting diode; and-   (4) the light receiver is a photodiode or phototransistor.

The electronic passcode key made of the optical keyboard is mountedinside of the window glass of vehicle or building, and people stayoutside window to use pointing objects for the operation.

The electronic passcode input keyboard at least having the keys of 0 to9, by key operations, do one or more of locking door, unlocking door,starting engine, and starting air-conditioner.

The electronic passcode input keyboard is a module separated fromelectronic lock module, and the electrical communication between them isone or more of wire connection, fixed code and rolling code wirelessradio communication.

The electronic passcode input keyboard has an identifier for one or moreof non-powered electronic key, powered electronic key and biometric forunlocking.

With electronic passcode keyboard key mounted outside a vehicle orcarried by a person that is used to unlock vehicle lock, after enteredthe passcode of unlocking vehicle door, do one or more operation withina set time as follows:

-   (1) enter the engine start passcode to start the engine directly;-   (2) within the set time after started engine, enter air conditioner    start passcode to start the air conditioner directly; and-   (3) enter the passcode of temporarily unlocking vehicle anti-theft    system, and then start engine by pushing button, turning knob or    shifting switch on vehicle dashboard or around within a set time.

An electronic passcode input keyboard key that is used to unlock vehiclelock is mounted on vehicle driver dashboard or around,

-   where one enters the engine start passcode to start the engine    directly; or-   enters the passcode of temporarily unlocking vehicle anti-theft    system, and then start engine by pushing button, turning knob or    shifting switch on vehicle dashboard or around within a set time.

The buttons of an electronic passcode keyboard key that is used tounlock vehicle or building lock mounted outside or inside vehicle orbuilding are usually in inoperable status;

-   one moves the door lock handle to send a signal to the keyboard and    let the buttons become in operable status; and-   after a set time, the buttons return to inoperable status.

The electronic passcode input keyboard is paired with locks of one ormore of product brands, to unlock the locks.

An owner uses one or more of pairing mechanical key, magnet card key, ICcard key, RFID tag key, electronic chip, pairing passcode and pairingbiometric to pair the electronic passcode key with the electronic lockof vehicle or building or set passcode.

One or more portable electronic appliances of cell phone, smart phone,tablet, computer, smart watch, digital camera and digital multimediaplayer with one or more of key electronic device and key softwareinside; and

-   by rolling code identification method,-   the portable electronic appliance unlocks an electronic lock of one    or more of vehicle door, vehicle anti-theft system, vehicle engine,    vehicle air conditioner, vehicle running recorder, garage door,    building door, box cover, cabinet door, video machine, building air    conditioner and power supply switch controller,-   with one or more of passcode, passcode free and biometric,-   with one or more of remote control, hands-free and hand-held    approaching operation.

The portable electronic appliance unlocks an electronic lock by fixedcode, with one or more of passcode, passcode free and biometric, andwith one or more of remote control, hands-free and hand-heldapproaching.

The portable electronic appliance unlocks the lock by one or more ofremote control key radio frequency communication, RFID, infraredcommunication, Bluetooth, WIFI communication and mobile communication.

An owner uses one or more of pairing mechanical key, magnet card key, ICcard key, RFID tag key, pairing passcode and pairing biometric to letthe electronic lock be in pairing status; and in this status, pair theportable electronic appliance with the electronic lock by pairing,un-pairing, locking passcode setting, unlocking passcode setting,passcode operation setting or passcode free operation setting.

The portable electronic appliance comprises one or more of mechanicaland software panic buttons, electronic devices of remote control keyradio frequency communication, anti-theft chip of remote control key,pairing and setting of remote control key, and operation software.

The portable electronic appliance is paired and used with one or more ofelectronic locks; and one or more of electronic lock number, descriptionof each electronic lock, locking and unlocking passcode, passcodeoperation and passcode free operation are set.

The portable electronic appliance, for vehicle electronic lock, do oneor more operation as follows:

-   (1) unlock or lock door lock with passcode or without passcode;-   (2) after unlock door lock, with passcode or without passcode,    unlock engine anti-theft electronic system lock and directly start    the engine;-   (3) after unlock door lock, with passcode or without passcode,    unlock engine anti-theft electronic system lock, then within a set    time, start the engine by pushing button, turning knob or shifting    switch with hand on vehicle dashboard or around;-   (4) without unlocking door lock, with passcode or without passcode,    unlock engine anti-theft electronic system lock and directly start    the engine;-   (5) after start the engine, with passcode or without passcode,    directly start air conditioner; and-   (6) before or after start the air conditioner, set air conditioning    temperature.

The portable electronic appliance, do one or more operation as follows:

-   (1) when carrying the portable electronic appliance close to an    electrical door lock, the door lock gets unlocked automatically; and-   (2) when carrying the portable electronic appliance close to a    vehicle driving seat, engine anti-theft electronic system lock gets    unlocked automatically, then start the engine by pushing button,    turning knob or shifting a switch with hand on vehicle dashboard or    around.

The portable electronic appliance, for different electronic locks, dokey operation and approaching operation in hybrid;

-   the portable electronic appliance selects key operation, approaching    operation or both operation in setting option; and-   for the electronic lock, when key operation and approaching    operation perform simultaneously, the key operation takes priority    over approaching operation.

The portable electronic appliance sends request signal by key operationto one or more of electronic lock, and after the electronic lockreceived the request signal, the electronic lock feedbacks one or moreof door lock unlocking status, vehicle anti-theft system unlockingstatus, engine running status, air conditioner running status, airconditioner set temperature, measured ambient temperature, electroniclock location, logger data and their historical data.

In some embodiments, the portable electronic appliance includesmechanical unlocking button.

With the portable electronic appliance, within a set time after did oneor more of passcode input and biometric identification, no matterwhether the portable electronic appliance is in working or sleepcondition, one pushes the mechanical unlocking button to do unlockingoperation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a key input assembly and a solar panel installed on a car.

FIG. 2 shows the key input assembly that is provided with the solarpanel, a rechargeable battery, a passcode input keyboard, a fingerprintrecognition device, an RFID tag key reader, a remote control keyreceiver and an outside replaceable battery.

FIG. 3 shows a multi-functional building door lock.

FIG. 4 shows an electronic door lock having a basic function.

FIG. 5 shows an electronic passcode door lock with low cost.

FIG. 6 shows an independent electronic passcode padlock.

FIG. 7 shows a front side of a typical radio electronic passcode key.

FIG. 8 shows a back side of an electronic passcode key.

FIG. 9 shows that the electronic passcode key is fixed on a car door.

FIG. 10 shows a state in which the electronic passcode key is fixed toan installing hole of the car door through screws.

FIG. 11 shows the installing holes in the car door.

FIG. 12 shows a barbed rivet arranged on a back side of the electronicpasscode key and simply fixed in the installing hole.

FIG. 13 shows a front oblique view of the electronic passcode key withthe barbed rivet.

FIG. 14 shows the electronic passcode key formed by an optical keyboardand installed in a car window glass. A user adopts a pointing object tooperate a keypad outside the window glass.

FIG. 15 shows a schematic diagram in which a lens is used for changinglight rays of a large emission angle of emitted light into light rays ofa medium emission angle, and changing light rays of a medium reflectionangle of reflected light into light rays of a large reflection angle.

FIG. 16 shows a schematic diagram in which small holes near an emissionsurface block light rays of the large emission angle and only allowlight rays of the medium and a small emission angle to pass throughthem; the small holes near receiving surface only allow light rays ofthe medium and small angles of the reflected light to enter a lightreceiver.

FIG. 17 shows an oblique view of one direction of a smartphone which canunlock and lock an electronic lock.

FIG. 18 shows an oblique view of another direction of the smartphonewhich can unlock and lock the electronic lock.

FIG. 19 shows a schematic diagram illustrating both the lens and thefilter integrated within a single embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a key input assembly and a solar panel installed on a car.Item 1 is the key input assembly installed on a car door. Item 2 is thesolar panel installed on an inner side of a front window glass of thecar. FIG. 2 shows the key input assembly that is provided with the solarpanel, a rechargeable battery, a passcode input keyboard, a fingerprintrecognition device, an RFID tag key reader, a remote control keyreceiver and an outside replaceable battery. Item 3 is the solar panel.Item 4 is a built-in rechargeable battery, for example, 9V rechargeablebattery, which is charged by the solar panel or an internal power supplyin the car, and cannot be removed from the outside of the car, so as toprevent being removed by people. A solar power generation assemblygenerally consists of the solar panel as well as the rechargeablebattery and a rechargeable capacitor which can store electricity. Item 5is the passcode input keyboard. Item 6 is the fingerprint recognitiondevice. Item 7 is the RFID tag key reader, wherein the RFID tag key canunlock the door lock when being held by hands within 2 cm to the doorlock, and can unlock the door lock without being held by hands within 60cm to the door lock. Item 8 is the remote control key receiver, whereinthe keypad of the remote control key can be operated to unlock the doorlock when the remote control key is positioned 30 meters away from thecar. The RFID tag key reader 7 and the remote control key receiver 8belong to electronic key readers. Item 9 is a built-in replaceablebattery, wherein a battery cover can be opened outside the car, forexample a 9 V battery. Item 10 is an external power supply socket, forexample a 3.5 mm socket, or pure positive and negative electrodes. Theexternal power supply is connected with the external power supply socketfor emergency power supply for the key input assembly, and after powersupplying is finished, the external power supply is separated from theexternal power supply socket.

FIG. 3 shows a multi-functional building door lock. Compared with theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3adds a battery 11 which can be opened and replaced inside, a mechanicalpasscode dial plate 12, as well as a lock lever handle 13 and a locktongue 14 of the door lock. The door lock does not need urbanelectricity, but the battery 11, for example, 4 pieces of AA typebatteries should be used to provide main power supply for work. Thesolar panel 3 and the built-in rechargeable battery 4, the battery 9which is opened and replaced outside, and the external power supplysocket 10 can provide emergency power supply. The mechanical passcodedial plate 12 is used for unlocking the door lock by the input ofcorrect mechanical passcode when the electronic key, the electronicpasscode and a fingerprint unlocking system fail to unlock the lock.Because unlocking the lock with a mechanic passcode does not consumeselectricity, and the unlocking operation speed is low, it is not used asa general unlocking manner but an emergency unlocking manner. Therefore,the mechanical passcode dial plate 12 can be hidden behind one cover fora beautiful surface. When the handle 13 of the door lock is rotated, thelock tongue 14 of the door lock is retracted to the door lock, and thenpushing or pulling is performed to open the door. When the handle 13 isreleased, the lock tongue 14 of the door lock is ejected out by a springand extends into a door frame, and the door cannot be pushed or pulledopen.

FIG. 4 shows the electronic door lock with a basic function. Accordingto the unlocking method, only the RFID tag key and passcode withoutpower supply are adopted. The battery 11 provides main power supply forwork. The solar panel 3 and the built-in rechargeable battery 4 providemain power supply for work and emergency. The external power supplysocket 10 provides the emergency power supply. This door lock issuitable for a safe box and a safe cabinet.

In order to further reduce cost, one of the RFID tag key reader 8 andthe passcode input keyboard 5 can be omitted, and the battery 11 and thehandle 13 can be omitted. FIG. 5 shows an electronic passcode door lockwith low cost, which can be unlocked only with electronic passcode. Whenthe lock is unlocked, the lock tongue 14 enters, and when the lock islocked, the lock tongue 14 is ejected. The solar panel 3 and thebuilt-in rechargeable battery 4 provide power supply for work andemergency. This lock can be used as a low-cost lock for a cabinet.

The electronic passcode lock of FIG. 5 is transformed and changed to astandalone electronic passcode padlock as shown in FIG. 6. Item 15 is ahook of the lock, which opens when the lock is unlocked. When the lockis locked, the hook closes. The hook can be replaced with a chain, andthen the lock will become a standalone electronic passcode chain lock.In the standalone electronic passcode lock, the solar panel 3 and thebuilt-in rechargeable battery 4 (not shown) provide power supply forwork and emergency, and they are not removable, unless destroyed. Thepasscode includes an unlocking passcode and an optional owner passcode.The owner passcode may be provided by a manufacturer and used to set orchange the unlocking passcode. For security reasons, the owner passcodecannot directly unlock the lock. In order to achieve the long-termreliable operation of the standalone electronic passcode lock, itselectrical and precision machinery parts may be sealed with one or moreprocessing techniques of rubber rings, rubber gaskets, integral formingof plastic housing, plastic welding, bonding and metal welding, so as toprevent water or vapor from entering into the inside.

Passenger doors and cargo compartment doors of the car may beconveniently opened with electronic door locks. Various embodiments ofthe present disclosure provide a non-powered electronic key. Forexample, mark functions of a non-powered magnetic card, a non-poweredcontact type IC card, a non-powered contactless card shaped RFID tag, anon-powered contactless key plate shaped RFID tag, a non-poweredother-shaped RFID tag and an integrated hybrid electronic tag combinedthereof, may be used to form the key. The non-powered electronic key,which has low price and small volume, is portable, and has goodreliability, will be the mainstream of car keys. They are usuallyprovided at lower prices than that of mechanical keys, their securitygenerally much better than the mechanical keys, and some of them cannoteven be decrypted and counterfeited by eavesdropping.

The non-powered RFID tag key being contactless is more convenient to usethan the contact type magnetic key and the contact type IC card key. Thenon-powered contactless RFID tag key with a chip containing no CPU isalso known as a non-powered contactless IC tag key and may be cracked,with poorer security. The non-powered contactless RFID tag key with achip containing a CPU is also known as a non-powered contactless CPU tagkey, and substantially may not be counterfeited with good security dueto CPU processing for cryptographic operations. Here, the CPU is theabbreviation for Central Processing Unit, and is also known as thecentral processor.

However, when the car is out of power, the unlocking methods of thenon-powered electronic key, a powered electronic key, the electroniccode and a biometric characteristic will not work. When one or more ofthe non-powered electronic key, the powered electronic key, theelectronic passcode and the biometric characteristic is used to unlockan electronic door lock of a vehicle, of a building, or of a cabinet, ora separate electronic lock, regardless of unlocking an vehicleanti-theft system electronic lock or not, a high-capacity internal powersupply, such as a generator plus a rechargeable battery, urbanelectricity, and a high-capacity battery, may be used to supply power tothe electronic door lock. In case the internal power supply is out ofpower, for example, a car not driven for a long time, all the power ofthe internal battery will be automatically discharged. It will be a bigproblem when one cannot open the electronic door lock of the vehicle, ofthe building, or of the cabinet, or the separate electronic lock. Tothis end, various embodiments of the present disclosure propose,regardless of the internal power supply, a method to power theelectronic door lock with the solar power generation assembly generatingpower from the external light, a manual mechanical power generationassembly, or a thermoelectric power generation assembly, which areinstalled in one or more of the wall, the window, the door, theelectronic door lock, the electronic key reader, the electronic passcodeinput keyboard and the biometric characteristic of the vehicle, thebuilding, the cabinet, or the separate electronic lock. Variousembodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method to power theelectronic door lock with a battery removable from the outside and builtin one or more of the wall, the window, the door, the electronic doorlock, the electronic key reader, the electronic passcode input keyboardand the biometric characteristic. For cars, motorcycles and othervehicles, the external power supply socket can be installed andconnected to the external power supply for powering the electronic doorlock. The fact that one of these types of power supply is available cansolve the problem. If two or more types are available, reliability forpower supply will be much higher.

Herein, the wall means walls of the housing of the vehicle or buildingor the cabinet or the separate electronic lock, including top, bottom,left, right, front and back walls, such as walls of the building. Thecabinet means various boxes and cabinets with locks, such as safe boxes,safe cabinets, suitcases, bookcases, distribution boxes, equipmentcabinets, drawers and containers. The solar power generation assemblygenerally consists of the solar panel and the rechargeable battery, ormay only consist of the solar panel without the rechargeable battery.Further, the rechargeable capacitor may store power for a short time andmay replace the rechargeable battery in some cases. As long as there islight when the car is in the outdoor or a garage, the solar panel cangenerate power for charging the rechargeable battery or powering thedoor lock. The rechargeable battery may be installed in the car andcharged by one or more of the internal power supply and the solar panel.The replaceable battery, for example, a 9V battery, built in the carneeds waterproof protection, e.g. the battery cover is sealed with arubber ring or a rubber gasket. The replaceable battery generallyrequires periodic replacement. The manual mechanical power generationassembly generates power, for example through repeated shaking orpulling of the door handle, and the power may be stored in therechargeable battery or the rechargeable capacitor. The thermoelectricpower generation assembly enables temperature difference between theinside and outside of the car with heating, e.g., by touching the keyinput assembly with a hand or other heating methods, to generate power.

At present, many cars are standardly provided with remote control keysor keys with keyless starting systems, which internally contain vehicleanti-theft chips, which are good in anti-theft performance under manyconditions, but are poorer in anti-theft performance than that of theoriginal mechanical keys when the keys are lost. For example, a personstealing a key can easily find a car in the distance by pressing a dooropen button of the key, and then drive the car away. Therefore, thepresent disclosure provides composite unlocking means of the electronickey, the electronic passcode and the biometric characteristic. When acar owner considers that it is necessary to improve the vehicleanti-theft grade because important articles are placed in the car or thecar is expensive, the car owner sets the mode that the door lock and theanti-theft system electronic lock can be unlocked by simultaneouslyusing the electronic key, the passcode and the biometric characteristic.Thus, the car is also protected by the passcode or the biometriccharacteristic even if the electronic key is lost. The car is alsoprotected by the electronic key or the biometric characteristic even ifthe passcode is known by other people. The car is also protected by theelectronic key or the passcode even if a bad finger is misjudged to be agood finger through biometric characteristic recognition. When the carowner considers that a high anti-theft grade is unnecessary, the doorlock of the car and the anti-theft system electronic lock can beunlocked through at least one of the electronic key, the passcode, orthe biometric characteristic. For example, it is very convenient whenthe car owner lends the electronic key to other people, the car isdriven back by other people, and the electronic key is returned. It isalso very convenient that a temporary passcode is given to other peopleto unlock the door or the car and the passcode is invalid afterexceeding the time limit. If the key of the car is locked in the car,the car owner unlocks the door lock by using the passcode to take outthe key. If the car owner often loses the key, the door lock of the carand the anti-theft system electronic lock can be unlocked by thepasscode and the biometric characteristic. A child serving as a middleschool student can enter the car by unlocking the door lock by using thedoor lock passcode, but an engine cannot be started if the passcode forthe anti-theft system electronic lock and the electronic key are notprovided.

The present car still retains the function of the mechanical key forunlocking the door lock of the car although being provided with theremote control key or the key with the keyless starting system, and theoriginal car owner can still unlock the door by using a standbymechanical key when the old car is sold. If the mechanical key is lost,invalidating the mechanical key needs to replace a lock cylinder or thewhole lock. Thus, the working time is long, and the price is high. Ifthe lost mechanical key is not invalidated, the person picking up themechanical key can unlock the door lock of the car at any time to takeaway properties in the car. Therefore, Various embodiments of thepresent disclosure provide a vehicle such as a car provided with arotary mechanical passcode door lock or a keypad type mechanicalpasscode door lock. The mechanical passcode can be changed by the carowner if it is known by other people, so that the method is easy andcheap compared with the method of replacing the mechanical lock cylinderor the whole lock.

An electronic key reader, an electronic passcode input keyboard or abiometric characteristic recognizer is arranged outside the vehicle, thebuilding, the cabinet or the independent electronic lock such as the cardoor to unlock the door lock of the car and the vehicle anti-theftsystem electronic lock. Wire communication or wireless communicationwith the electronic door lock or the vehicle anti-theft systemelectronic lock is realized. All the assemblies can work under thesupply of electricity. A power supply of all the assemblies is same asor different from the power supply of the electronic door lock, andpower can be supplied by the high-capacity internal power supply.However, no matter whether the power is supplied by the internal powersupply or not, the power is supplied by one or more of the powergeneration assembly, the replaceable battery and the external powersupply socket.

One and more of the electronic key reader, the electronic passcode inputkeyboard and the biometric characteristic recognizer can form oneassembly or separate assemblies together with one or more of theelectronic door lock and the vehicle anti-theft system electronic lock.

In order to provide convenience for a person to enter the car through aleft door and a right door, the left door and right door of the car canbe respectively provided with one set of the electronic key reader orthe electronic passcode input keyboard or the biometric characteristicrecognizer.

Except for the outside of the car, the electronic key reader, theelectronic passcode input keyboard or the biometric characteristicrecognizer can also be arranged on an instrument panel that is alsocalled dashboard inside the car and around so as to facilitate thedriver to unlock the vehicle anti-theft system electronic lock and thelike. Wire communication or wireless communication with the electronicdoor lock or the anti-theft system electronic lock is realized. Thepower is supplied by one or more of the internal power supply of thecar, the power generation assembly and the replaceable battery. Forexample, an electronic passcode input keyboard is combined with a caraudio and video device or a satellite navigation device to form adevice.

The car anti-theft system electronic lock can also be unlocked by usingthe electronic key, the electronic passcode or the biometriccharacteristic through the electronic key reader, the electronicpasscode input keyboard or the biometric characteristic recognizerarranged on each car door. In order to reduce the cost, no electronickey reader, electronic passcode input keyboard or biometriccharacteristic recognizer is arranged inside the car, however, theconvenience is a little poor.

Once the power supply problems of the electronic key reader, theelectronic passcode input keyboard, the biometric characteristicrecognizer, the electronic door lock, and the standalone electronic lockare solved by using the above-mentioned internal power supply, the powergeneration assembly, the replaceable battery, and the external powersupply socket, the lock or the door lock can be unlocked outside.Therefore, the present disclosure suggests that the mechanical key lockshould no longer be installed. Any door locks or standalone electroniclocks of the whole, suite compartments, single compartments, suites,single rooms, suite chambers, and single chambers of the vehicle or thebuilding or the cabinet are not the locks that can be unlocked bymechanical keys. That can avoid the problems of inconvenience to carryand loss of the mechanical key and improve the vehicle anti-theftperformance. With poor anti-theft performance, locksmiths and evenordinary people are able to easily and non-destructively unlock amechanical lock within a short time. However, some people worry aboutthe breakdowns occurred when the above-mentioned electronic key, theelectronic passcode, the biometric characteristic or the mechanicalpasscode unlocks the lock, so they want to reserve the mechanical keylock as one more means to unlock the lock or open the door.

For a portable powered electronic key, or the electronic passcode inputkeyboard, or the biometric characteristic recognizer, its power supplyis powered by one or more of the power generation assembly, a removableor non-removable battery, and the external power supply socket.

With one or more of key electronic devices and key software built in,the powered electronic key, or the electronic passcode input keyboard,or the biometric characteristic recognizer is one function of theportable electric appliance of a special key assembly, the cellphone, atablet computer, a computer, a watch, a digital camera, a digitalmultimedia player, a satellite navigator, and the like, and the portableelectric appliance is unlocked by one or more of a inputting passcode orno passcode, a remote control operation, a hands-free approaching and ahand-held approaching. One can also press a panic button to realize anacousto-optic panic alert. It is easy to use a multi-functional portableelectric appliance with key function to set passcode, and set individualor composition operation methods of the electronic key, the electronicpasscode and the biometric characteristic.

The wireless communication between the portable electric appliance withkey functions and the car are one or more of a RFID, a radio frequencycommunication, an infrared light communication, a Bluetoothcommunication, a WIFI communication, a cellphone ground-basedcommunication, and a cellphone satellite communication. A communicationdistance of RFID tags is related to the presence or absence of the powersupply, and the parameter of a frequency, a reader's power, an antennasize, an antenna orientation, a tag performance, and so on. A portableelectric appliance can include multiple sets of RFID chips and antennas.The portable electric appliance can operate the keypad to communicatewith the car, that is, a remote control operation. For some RFID tagkeys with power supplies, their communication distances can be up tomore than 30 meters. The communication distances of some RFID tags withand without power supplies range from 50 cm to 100 cm. At this time, theportable electric appliance can be put into a handbag or a pocket. Whena portable electric appliance is 60 cm away from a car outside, the doorlock is unlocked; when a portable electric appliance is approaching thedriver position inside the car, car anti-theft system lock is unlocked.It's convenient because the portable electric appliance doesn't need tobe brought out of the handbag or the pocket from beginning to end.That's called hands-free approaching identification operation. As tosome RFID tag keys without power supplies or RFID tag keys with powersupplies but dead batteries, when the communication distance is below 2cm, one should hold the portable electric appliance including such RFIDtag key to approach the RFID reader of the car or the building or thecabinet or the standalone electronic lock to communicate, so as tounlock the door lock or the standalone electronic lock or the caranti-theft system lock. That's called hand-held approachingidentification operation.

In the case of using the portable key or the cellphone or other portableelectric appliances to unlock the lock, because cellphones and the likeconsume large power, their batteries may just run out of power when onewants to unlock the lock. It would be a big problem that batterycharging is time consuming and the worse thing is that it is impossibleto charge the battery at that time. However, if the electronic keyrecognizer, or the electronic passcode key input keyboard, or thebiometric characteristic recognizer is installed in or around the cardoor lock or the building door lock, the problem can be solved by usingthem to unlock the lock.

A portable remote control key with the battery built in, or a key withkeyless starting system with the battery built in, or a standaloneelectronic key, or other portable electric appliances with the functionof the electronic key is sealed with one or more processing techniquesof the rubber ring, the rubber gasket, an integral forming of plastichousing, a plastic welding, a bonding and a metal welding, so as toprevent water and gas from entering into the inside from the outside.

For a door lock or anti-theft system electronic lock of a vehicle, theowner himself can carry out an electronic key pairing, a passcoderegistration and a biometric characteristic registration. For passcoderegistration of a mechanical passcode door lock, it is needed to operateinside and outside the door after the vehicle's door is opened. Forelectronic key pairing, passcode registration and biometriccharacteristic registration, it is needed to use one or more ofmechanical keys, magnetic card keys, IC keys, RFID tag keys, passcodesand biometric characteristics for pairing purpose, to carry out pairingand registration. When purchasing a new car or a used car, the car owneris provided with key and passcode for pairing use and registersfingerprints for pairing use. For example, the key for pairing use is anon-powered RFID card having the same size as a bank card. Whenpurchasing a car, the new car owner makes a clear operation to disableall of the electronic key, the passcode and the biometriccharacteristic, and then re-match the key and re-register the passcodeand the biometric characteristic. For convenience, the key for pairinguse can also open the car door lock and the anti-theft system electroniclock. Only one rather than two or more keys for pairing use can beallowed, and when the key for pairing use or the passcode thereof ismissing, the car owner must contact the car manufacturer or shop, andthe car manufacturer or shop confirms the car owner's ID and then giveone or more of a new key for pairing use, a passcode for pairing use anda registration of fingerprints for pairing use according to the car's IDnumber. Once the new key for pairing use, the new passcode for pairinguse or the new fingerprints for pairing use are adopted, the used keyfor pairing use, the used passcode for pairing use or the usedfingerprint for pairing use is disabled. The key for pairing use, or thepasscode for pairing use or the fingerprint for pairing use is usuallynot used as the general key, or the general passcode or the generalfingerprint. As a key for pairing use, an electronic key is preferred toa mechanical key. The combination of a non-powered contactless CPU tagkey and an electronic key exhibits excellent anti-theft performance andis an ideal set of keys for pairing use and passcode for pairing use.

A non-powered electronic key and a powered electronic key for the car orthe building, particularly a card key, has a low cost and is convenientto lend to others. At this time, the owner can set limited period ofvalidity or times of validity of the card key, for example, 4 hours or 3times. When the key is lent to others, the setting of limited period orlimited times of validity is much safer than the setting of unlimitedperiod or unlimited times of validity, and requires less concerns.

If the car electronic key is missing or stolen, a malicious person whogets the key may see the identity of the car manufacturer or the cartype on the key and may find the car from a distant place easily, enterthe car and drive the car away. Accordingly, as provided herein, thereare no any identity of the manufacturer or the type of vehicles,buildings, building door locks, cabinets, cabinet door locks andstandalone electronic locks on the surface of the portable non-poweredor powered original authentic key from the car manufacturer. For a keythat is not an original authentic key, it should have no identity of theoriginal manufacturer. To facilitate the identification by the owner,some numerical codes and patterns are provided. However, since the keyfor pairing use is not common and unlikely to be missed, the identity ofthe manufacturer can be provided to facilitate the identification by theowner.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the typical electronic passcode key inputkeyboard of the present disclosure, which has a numerical key 16 and asolar panel 17. FIG. 2 is a back view of the input keyboard of theelectronic passcode key, which has two threaded holes 18 and a roundcover 19 for battery replacement. The solar panel 17 and the round cover19 may not be required at the same time, so either of them is removed.If the solar panel 17 and the built-in rechargeable battery thereofserve as a power supply, the service life may reach more than 10 years,and the round cover 19 is not needed. In the case that a disposablebattery rather than the solar panel 17 is used, the service life of itmay be less than 10 years, so that the battery needs to be replaced, andthe round cover 19 is not needed.

Accordingly, the power supply for the electronic passcode key inputkeyboard may be the combination of a built-in disposable battery, abuilt-in solar power generation assembly and an external power supply.

Importantly, two threaded holes 18 are disposed on the back of theelectronic passcode key input keyboard. These two threaded holes areused for mounting the electronic passcode key on the outer wall of avehicle (such as a car) or a building. For example, two through holesare disposed on the outer wall of the car, and the electronic passcodekey input keyboard is fixed by screws through the two holes from theinside of the car. When the electronic passcode key input keyboard isfixed or removed, the operation needs to be performed from the inside ofthe car. A person who is not provided with the car key fails to comeinto the car and thus cannot steal the electronic passcode key unlessthe electronic passcode key input keyboard is destroyed. Herein, carengine compartments and cargo compartments are also the inside of thecar.

The electronic passcode key input keyboard is mounted in a suitableposition on the car, for example, driver car door and periphery thereof.For example, as shown in FIG. 9, at the driver car door window glassframe 20, and at the car door window glass frame 21 of a driver rearseat, when opening the car door, a person can directly see the screwsfor fastening the electronic passcode key input keyboard on the car doorframe from the inside of the car, which can be removed or installedconveniently from the inside of the car. For aesthetic purpose, aprotective cover may be arranged at the fastening screws inside the car.The protective cover and the fastening screw are convenient for removaland installation, have simple configuration, can be seen directly by aperson, and can be operated by an ordinary person instead of a skilledperson, without the need to read the instructions. The electronicpasscode key may also be fixed to an engine compartment door, a cargocompartment door or the like.

FIG. 10 shows a state in which the electronic passcode key inputkeyboard 22 is fixed by two screws 23 to the car door 24. The two screws23 penetrate from the inside of the car through the installing hole 25(as shown in FIG. 11) on the car door 24, fixing the electronic passcodekey input keyboard 22. When the car door is opened, an ordinary personmay easily install and remove the electronic passcode key input keyboard22 with only a screwdriver, so the labor cost for replacing theelectronic passcode key is substantially equal to zero. When the cardoor is closed, a person outside the car cannot loosen and remove thescrews 23, so that the electronic passcode key input keyboard isprevented from being stolen.

In addition, a threaded rod may be screwed in advance into the threadedhole 18 in the back of the electronic passcode key input keyboard 22.During installation, the threaded rod on the electronic passcode keyinput keyboard 22 may penetrate from the outside of the car through theinstalling hole 25 on the car door 24, and then a nut is screwed fromthe inside of the car to fix the electronic passcode key input keyboard22.

As shown in FIG. 12, a barbed rivet 26 may also be screwed in advanceinto the threaded hole 18 on the back of the electronic passcode keyinput keyboard 22. The barbed rivet 26 may simply be inserted from theoutside of the car into the installing hole 25 on the car door 24 to fixthe electronic passcode key input keyboard 22, without having to openthe door. However, in order to remove the barbed rivet, one need to openthe door to shrink the barbs, which may also prevent the electronicpasscode key input keyboard from being stolen. FIG. 13 is a frontoblique view of the electronic passcode key input keyboard with thebarbed rivet.

The installing hole 25 may be round or long hole through which screws,nuts and barbed rivets may be used to firmly fix the electronic passcodekey 22. The installing hole 25 may be preformed in car manufacturers inadvance, or may also be fabricated after the electronic passcode keyinput keyboard 22 is given.

Since the electronic passcode key input keyboard is used outdoors, itneed to have the waterproof function. The housing of the electronicpasscode key input keyboard may be processed for waterproof sealing withone or more processing techniques of the integrated forming of plastic,plastic welding, metal welding, adhesive bonding, and rubber ringsealing. If there is a battery cover, a rubber ring may be set at thebattery cover for the waterproof sealing. The housing of the electronicpasscode key input keyboard cannot be opened, except at the point of therubber ring sealing. The point of the rubber ring sealing may only beopened from the back of the housing of the electronic passcode key inputkeyboard by firstly removing the electronic passcode key input keyboardfrom the inside of the car. Others outside the car cannot open thehousing from the front or the side thereof. If the keyboard uses solarpanels and is equipped internally with a rechargeable battery, thebattery may need not to be replaced for more than 10 years, so thebattery cover may be omitted, and making waterproof simpler.

FIG. 14 is an electronic passcode key input keyboard with opticalbuttons proposed by the present disclosure. At this time, the electronicpasscode key input keyboard 27 with optical buttons is fixed to theinner side of the car window glass 28 with adhesive or screws, and onemay operate the buttons by touching the window glass 28 from the outsidewith a pointing object 29 such as a finger or a pen, etc. Since theoptical keyboard is inside the vehicle, it will not be accidentallydamaged because of snow and ice removal from the outside of the car inwinter, making the waterproof performance unnecessary.

In the example of FIG. 14, there are a pair of light emitter 30 andlight receiver 31 adjacent to each other in each button of the opticalkeyboard. The light emitter 30 may be a light emitting diode, and thelight receiver 31 may be a photodiode or phototransistor. The diagonalbell mouth shape in the drawings is the light emitting angle range ofthe light emitter 30 and the light receiving angle range of the lightreceiver 31. When the pointing object 29 touches the position of buttonson the window glass 28 from the outside of the car, light emitted fromthe light emitter 30, after reflected by the pointing object 29, entersthe light receiver 31. When the pointing object 29 does no touch theposition of buttons, there is no reflection, so the light emitted fromthe light emitter 30 does not enter the light receiver 31.

Typically, the light emitting angle range of the light emitter isgreater than the angle of the diagonal bell mouth shape in FIG. 14. Inorder to decrease the light emitting angle, in FIG. 15, a lens 34 isarranged in the vicinity of the light emitting surface 32 of the lightemitter 30, and the lens 34 converges the light with a large emissionangle 36 emitted from the light emitting surface 32 into light 37 with amedium emission angle. In FIG. 15, a lens 35 is also arranged in thevicinity of the light receiving surface 33 of the light receiver 31, andthe lens 35 diverges the light 38 with a medium reflection anglereflected from the pointing object 29 into light 39 with a largereflection angle, which enters the light receiving surface 33 of thelight receiver 31. The light with a large emission angle does not enterthe light receiving surface 33. As such, both the light emission angleand the light receiving angle are reduced.

In FIG. 16, a hole 40 is arranged in the vicinity of the light emittingsurface 32 of the light emitter 30, and the hole 40 blocks the lightwith a large emission angle, and allows only the light with asmall/medium emission angle to get through. In FIG. 16, a hole 41 isalso arranged in the vicinity of the light receiving surface 33 of thelight receiver 31, and the hole 41 blocks the light with a largereflection angle, and allows only the light with a small/mediumreflection angle to enter the light receiving surface 33. As such, boththe light emission angle and the light receiving angle are reduced.Compared with the lens type of FIG. 15, the holes block energy of thelight with a large angle, and with lower efficiency.

Chinese Patent CN 2482137 Y, Huang Mingzhi, 13 Mar. 2002, invented anoptical button input device, wherein an optical hole is arranged at thecentral position of each button, so that light from a light emittingdiode illuminates a finger through the optical hole, and the lightreflected from the finger also enter a light receiver through the hole.Its configuration is different from that in FIG. 14 of the presentdisclosure. Chinese Patent CN 102479007 A, Lv Zhiguo, 30 May 2012,invented an optical keyboard, wherein differently from the presentdisclosure, there is no lens of FIG. 15 or holes of FIG. 16 in itsoptical transceiver module.

In order to reduce the influence of ambient light, the inside or outsideof the window glass 28 may be provided with a bandpass filter layer ofemitted light wavelength, allowing only the light reflected by thepointing object 29 and the ambient light with the same wavelength as thelight emitted from the light emitter 30 to pass through the filter layerand enter the light receiver 31. Light with other wavelengths in theambient light cannot pass through the bandpass filter layer and thuscannot enter the light receiver 31.

In addition, the light emitter 30 is driven by a high frequency pulse,and the frequency of its high frequency pulsed light is much higher thanthe approximately constant ones of the ambient light, so that the lightreceiver 31 may filter out the low-frequency ambient light afterreceiving the light.

Light emitted from the light emitter 30 in one button, after reflectedby the pointing object 29 when the button is pressed, will substantiallyonly enter the light receiver 31 of the same button. However, when thepointing object 29 is far from the window glass, a part of the reflectedlight enters the light receiver of an adjacent button. However, themaximum light intensity received by the light receiver 31 of the samebutton is much stronger than the light intensity received by the lightreceiver of the adjacent button. By comparison, one can determine thebutton instead of the adjacent button is pressed by the pointing object29.

Sometimes, the electronic passcode key button requires a lot of powerconsumption in the operable state, so here the electronic passcode keyis usually made in a standby mode with small power consumption and thebuttons cannot work. When one needs to operate the buttons, he can pullthe car door handle once outside or inside the car, and then the carsends a signal to the electronic passcode key, so that the buttons ofthe electronic passcode key are in the operable state, and the codeoperation must start within a set time, for example 30 seconds. With aset time after the code operation is completed, for example after 60seconds, the buttons are back to the inoperable state. As such, thebuttons are in operable state for a short time with small powerconsumption, so that the battery in the electronic passcode key mayprovide a long battery life.

For the code operations of the car electronic passcode key, a couple ofgrades can be set. For example, the first grade is to lock the car doorswith a simple button. The second grade is to open the car doors, forexample with a 4-8-digit passcode. The third grade is to start theengine, for example with another 6-digit passcode. After starting theengine, other passcode operations may be performed, such as to start airconditioner, to set temperature, etc.

After the passcode for opening the car doors is input, the passcode forstarting the engine can be then input within a set time, for example 20seconds to directly start the engine. Alternatively, a driver can inputa passcode for temporarily relieving the anti-theft state of the engineelectronic lock, then he may get in the car, sit on the driver's seatand press a button or twist a knob switch by hand within a set time, forexample 120 seconds, to start the engine. It will be convenient if thisbutton or knob switch is provided on the instrument panel that is alsocalled dashboard around the steering wheel.

Another electronic passcode key input keyboard may be arranged on oraround the instrument panel in a car or on a motorcycle, and a drivermay input the passcode for starting the engine to directly start theengine. A driver can input a passcode for temporarily relieving theanti-theft state of the engine electronic lock, and then he may press abutton or twist a knob switch by hand within a set time, for example 60seconds, to start the engine. As such, hand-held keys may be completelyeliminated.

The electronic passcode key input keyboard may be not installed onvehicles and buildings. Rather, one can hold it in his hand, and canperform the remote passcode operation from a distance. Even if someoneelse steals the electronic passcode key, he cannot operate, in favor ofsecurity.

The electronic key passcode input keyboard may also have and use thenon-powered electronic key, the powered electronic key and the biometriccharacteristic unlocking functions. Particularly, the non-poweredmagnetic card, the non-powered contact type IC card, the non-poweredcontactless card-shaped RFID tag, and the non-powered contactlesskey-card-shaped RFID tag, with small size, light weight, and low cost,may be lent to others conveniently.

For the set time, the manufacturer may give a factory setting, and usersmay change the setting according to their own situation.

In order to reduce costs, the electronic passcode key input keyboardwill not be made to be dedicated to a brand but made to be common. Forexample, the electronic passcode key input keyboard for cars may becommon to a number of car brands. The electronic passcode key inputkeyboard for cars may also be common to motorcycles and buildings.Further, through passcode operations, one electronic passcode key inputkeyboard may be used to open electronic locks of several cars andbuildings. The above electronic locks include door locks, an engineanti-theft electronic lock system, etc.

The common electronic passcode key input keyboard may be easilypurchased from a store, and can be set by the owner for pairing andpasscode setting with electronic lock assemblies, such as the car doorlock, the engine anti-theft system, the air-conditioning control system,etc. To this end, the owner can use an owner mechanical key or an ownerelectronic chip to operate. For example, when getting close to thesteering wheel, the owner electronic chip communicates with the car viaradio, making it possible for match setting and passcode setting. Whenthe owner electronic chip is far away from the steering wheel, radiocommunication is interrupted, making it impossible for match setting andpasscode setting. A brief description for setting may be attached to theinner surface of the door to facilitate the operation of the owner. Theexisting car anti-theft remote control key may also be used as an ownerelectronic chip.

During car selling, the owner mechanical key or the owner electronicchip should be handed over to the new owner. The car franchised storescan restore or make one and more than one of the owner mechanical keyand the owner electronic chip after identifying safety of the owneridentity. There can be several owner electronic chips or only one ownerelectronic chip. When only one owner electronic chip is permitted, theold owner electronic chip will be invalid when the new owner electronicchip is available. Generally, the owner mechanical key and the ownerelectronic chip are not lent to other people, and the owner should nottell the passcode to others, so even other people open the car door,they cannot match or change the key passcode of the car. The key and thepasscode used for pairing are also called the owner key and the ownerpasscode.

The passcode can be a number with 1 to 32 digits, with * and #respectively added in front of and behind of the number. A set ofexamples are as follows:

-   *123451#: unlock electronic door lock with the passcode-   *1234567890123456#: unlock electronic door lock with the second    passcode-   *123402#: unlock door lock with temporary passcode, and temporary    passcode can only be used twice-   *1#: lock door lock with passcode-   *223451#: unlock vehicle anti-theft system electronic lock with    passcode-   *2234567890123456#: unlock vehicle anti-theft system electronic lock    with the second passcode-   *223403#: unlock vehicle anti-theft system electronic lock with    temporary passcode, and temporary passcode can only be used twice-   *2#: lock vehicle anti-theft system electronic lock with passcode-   *323453#: start engine with passcode-   *3#: stop engine with passcode-   *42400020#: start air conditioner with passcode, and temperature is    set at 20 deg. C. or the set temperature of air conditioner is    changed to be 20 deg. C. during the operation of the air conditioner-   *4#: stop air conditioner with passcode-   #: simultaneously stop air conditioner and engine, and also lock    electronic door lock and vehicle anti-theft system electronic lock-   *923456789012345678901234#: input owner passcode-   *993456789012345678901234#: set new owner passcode after inputting    old owner passcode or using owner electronic chip-   *9123451#: set new door unlocking passcode after inputting owner    passcode or using owner electronic chip-   *999#: pair new electronic key after inputting owner passcode or    using owner electronic chip-   ***: interrupt passcode operation. Passcode operation can be    restarted immediately.

To prevent other people from identifying the passcode input by theowner, the owner can input false numbers and true numbers together, andthe passcode control unit can automatically eliminate the false numbersand receive the true numbers. For example, *1234*123451# is equivalentto *123451#, and all the numbers *1234 in front of the last * are falsenumbers. *123451#123# is equivalent to *123451#, and all the numbers123# after the first # are false numbers. *1234*123451#123 is equivalentto *123451#. *1234*123451#123### is equivalent to *123451#, and the last### requires the passcode control unit to eliminate the false numbersand receive the true numbers. The false number can be any number of anydigit.

FIG. 17 is an oblique view of one direction of a smartphone which canunlock and lock an electronic lock. 44 is the unlocking button, 45 isthe locking button, 46 is the touch display screen, 47 is the mobilephone receiver, and 48 is the charging socket of the mobile phone. FIG.18 is an oblique view of another direction of the smartphone. 49 is thepower supply button of the mobile phone, 50 and 51 are volume buttons,and 52 is the photographing button. The portable electric appliance canbe a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a computer, a smartwatch, a digital camera or a digital multimedia player. Correspondingly,electronic locks are installed on doors of cars, trains, motorcycles,ships, airplanes and other vehicles, the engine anti-theft systems ofthe vehicles, air conditioners of the vehicles, vehicle recorders,garage doors, building doors, safe boxes, safe cabinets, etc. Theportable electric appliance of the present disclosure first pairs withthe electronic lock, and sets unlocking and locking passcode or withoutpasscode, or registers fingerprint, face, iris, vein and other biometriccharacteristic. If the portable electric appliance sets passcode orbiometric characteristic, the electronic lock of the electric appliancecannot be unlocked by others with no passcode or correct biometriccharacteristic even if the portable electric appliance is lost orstolen, which is favorable for safety.

As the key, the smartphone has a strong function and is convenient tocontrol remotely, but the power consumption is fast, and the mobilephone cannot work without electricity. For car locks or building doorlocks unlocked by mobile phones, one or more of electronic keyrecognizers, electronic passcode key input keyboards or biometriccharacteristic recognizers can be installed on cars or buildings, andunlocking with the recognizers or input keyboards solves the problemwhen the mobile phone keys cannot work.

The electronic lock of the portable electric appliance is locked andunlocked through wireless communication, that is the portable electricappliance has a remote control key function. The general coding modes ofthe remote control key include two types: fixed codes and rolling codes.The fixed codes in wireless communication can be easily overheard andrecorded by the interceptors and then are used for unlocking by emittingthe fixed codes later, so the fixed codes have poor confidentiality. Therolling codes are upgraded products of the fixed codes. As the unlockingcode emitted each time is different from other codes, the interceptorcannot unlock the lock with the previous unlocking code even if itobtains the previous unlocking code, so the rolling codes have goodconfidentiality. Currently, all occasions with confidentialityrequirements use the coding mode of rolling codes. All theabove-mentioned electronic locks require high confidentiality andvehicle anti-theft performance, so the coding mode of rolling codes isneeded.

For today's smartphones, most of them usually have a cellphonecommunication mode, a Bluetooth communication mode, and a WIFIcommunication mode. Although they are powerful in wireless call andwireless communication, they still employ a fixed code mode when beingput through. For example, a cellphone can make wireless call withother's cellphone just by inputting the phone number. A cellphone canmake the wireless communication with other's WIFI just by inputting thepasscode. Because the phone number and the WIFI passcode do not changeafter the cellphones' being put through, they are fixed codes. For itspoor confidentiality, the fixed code is not suitable for the car doorlock and the anti-theft system electronic lock of the automotiveengines. That's why today's car remote control keys don't employ thecellphone communication mode, the Bluetooth communication mode, and theWIFI communication mode. A car remote control key generally employscarrier frequencies of 315 MHz, 433 MHz, or 818 MHz, and typically usean encoded mode of a rolling code. There is also a cellphonecommunication using frequency of 800 MHz, but the signal is differentfrom the signal of the car remote control key, and typically cannotunlock and lock the car.

Based on the prior cellphone communications mode, the Bluetoothcommunication mode, and the WIFI communication mode, the presentdisclosure adds a rolling code function so as to facilitate thecellphone to unlock and lock the electronic lock with highconfidentiality. For example, with cellphone communications mode, afterthe cellphone keypad operation issues the command of unlocking, thecellphone first automatically enters the phone number of the carelectronic lock, then the cellphone automatically issues the rollingcode to unlock the electronic lock after being put through. After thecellphone keypad operation issues the command of locking, the cellphonefirst automatically enters the phone number of the car electronic lock,and then the cellphone automatically issues a rolling code to lock theelectronic lock after being put through. When a cellphone uses theBluetooth communication mode or the WIFI communication mode, it connectsthe Bluetooth communication mode or the WIFI communication mode whenapproaching the car electronic lock, and then it automatically issuesthe rolling code to unlock the electronic lock. The electronic lock islocked after the cellphone is more than 5 meters away from the car forover 10 seconds. The Bluetooth communication is cut off when thecellphone is more than 10 meters away from the car, or the WIFIcommunication is cut off when the cellphone is more than 30 meters awayfrom the car. The rolling code every time the cellphone issues isdifferent, so the confidentiality is good.

The electronic devices of radio frequency communications of remotecontrol keys of the cars and garage doors, anti-theft chips of remotecontrol keys, and electronic devices of infrared ray communications canbe built in the cellphone. The cellphone employs the encoded mode of therolling code to unlock and lock the above-mentioned electronic locks.These electronic devices are small in volume and light in weight, andthus they will not greatly increase cellphone costs and size. It's easyto install a key software program in a cellphone, and to achievemultifunctional control.

In order to expand the use of cellphones, they can also serve as remotecontrollers for video machines of television sets and audio systems, airconditioners of buildings, and power switch controllers. Amongst them,sockets of power switch controllers can be plugged into typical electricappliance power cord plugs such that the controllers can switch on andoff typical electric appliances, such as televisions, audio systems,sound recorders, video recorders, electric taps, and so on. Thesemachines usually don't require being confidential, and cellphones, asremote controllers, preferably employ an encoded mode of fixed code tomake wireless communications with these machines.

If a cellphone is installed with a key software program, the programsoftware can perform various settings to drive an electronic lock.Before driving the electronic lock, the key program in the cellphone isstarted to pair with electronic lock. The mode that the cellphone makeswireless communications with the electronic lock is selected in thecellphone, such as the carrier frequency of the remote control key, theBluetooth communication mode, the WIFI communication mode, the cellphonecommunication mode, or the infrared light communication mode, and theencoded mode of the fixed code or the rolling code is also selected. Theradio frequency communication, the Bluetooth communication mode, and theWIFI communication mode of the remote control key of the car and thegarage door are near field communications, and the infrared raycommunication typically is also a near field communication. Thecellphone communication has a ground-based cellphone communication and asatellite cellphone communication. The ground-based cellphonecommunication mode is a wireless communication network that covers themost regions where people usually stay around the world. The satellitecellphone communication is a wireless communication that uses satellitesas transfer stations, and can cover cities, villages, mountainous areas,deserts, seas and other vast areas around the world. The choice ofcellphones must be consistent with the specifications of electroniclocks. When an electronic lock leaves the factory, the manufacturer willgive it a factory secret key. When a cellphone makes pairing connectionswith the electronic lock, the cellphone needs to enter the factorysecret key of the electronic lock, and successful pairing connectionsare confirmed. The cellphone can remove the pairing connections with theelectronic lock by keypad operations. Moreover, the electronic lock canalso be provided with a pairing button. Once this pairing button ispressed, the electronic lock will emit a pairing secret key, and withina time, for example within 10 seconds, connection is performed after thepress of the pairing button in a cellphone to accept the pairing secretkey. If the pairing button of the electronic lock is pressedcontinuously for over 5 seconds and then released, all previous pairingconnections of cellphones and other portable electric appliances areremoved. Pairing buttons can also be pairing knobs or pairing shiftswitches here.

In regard to the generation of rolling codes, the electronic lock isconfigured with a manufacturer factory secret key, and when a car ownerpairs the car electronic lock with mobile phone key software, anequation is given or selected, and the rolling code of each time iscalculated by the equation and the factory secret key. The factorysecret key and the equation are memorized in the mobile phone and theelectronic lock during pairing. After each time of communication forunlocking or locking, both the mobile phone and the electronic lockcalculates the same rolling code of the next time, the mobile phonetransmits the rolling code of the next time to the electronic lock, andunlocking or locking is executed when the rolling code of the next timeis consistent to the rolling code of the next time calculated by theelectronic lock. The unlocking or locking is not executed when theinconsistent situation exists. Only different rolling codes aretransmitted between the mobile phone and the electronic lock each time,and the factory secret key and the equation are not transmitted. Inparticular, the owner inputs his favorite equation by using the mobilephone key software or randomly selects one equation from the mobilephone key software, but does not know the contents of the equation. Asto the equation, the manufacturer also knows nothing about it. Eventhough other people intercept and capture an existing rolling code byusing an interceptor and know the factory secret key, the rolling codesfor later unlocking cannot be calculated since they do not know theequation.

After pairing connection succeeds, set a passcode or passcode free forunlocking or locking the electronic lock.

For improving the confidentiality and preventing other people fromfreely performing pairing with their portable electric appliance orrelieving existing pairing, a pairing mechanical lock, a pairingelectronic lock or a pairing passcode is further installed on theelectronic lock. When the portable electric appliance and the electroniclock perform pairing, one or more of owner mechanical key, ownerelectronic chip, owner electronic card and owner passcode are firstlyneeded for unlocking the pairing lock. For example, when the ownerelectronic chip is taken nearby a steering wheel of the car, the ownerelectronic chip and the car electronic lock perform radio communicationto unlock the pairing lock so as to make the electronic lock in pairingenable state. In this state, the portable electric appliance pairs withthe electronic lock and set the passcode for unlocking or locking theelectronic lock or set passcode free unlocking. When the ownerelectronic chip is taken away from the steering wheel, the radiocommunication is interrupted, the pairing becomes disable, and pairingsetting and passcode setting cannot be performed.

When a vehicle or a building is sold, owner mechanical key, ownerelectronic chip, owner electronic card and owner passcode should begiven to the new owner. A franchised car or building shop can alsorestore or make one or more of owner mechanical key, owner electronicchip, owner electronic card and owner passcode after confirm theownership. Owner electronic chips can be only one or more. When only oneowner electronic chip is allowed, as soon as the new owner electronicchip is effective, the previous one becomes disable. The ownermechanical key, owner electronic chip, owner electronic card and ownerpasscode are generally only reserved and used by the owner rather thanothers. Even if other people unlock the car, they cannot pair with theirportable electric appliance, cannot relieve pairing, and cannot changepasscode without using above owner things.

For improving the universality of portable electric appliance, oneportable electric appliance can pair with multiple electronic locks. Forinstance, one smartphone can pair with the electronic locks of doors andengines of several cars, several garage doors and several room doors.The multiple functions of the portable electric appliance are easilyachieved by using key software based on necessary electronic devicehardware. The communication modes of the electronic locks can bedifferent and can be any one of remote control key radio frequencycommunication, infrared ray communication, Bluetooth communication, WIFIcommunication and mobile phone communication modes, the user can use thekey software of the portable electric appliance to select the propercommunication mode to pair with the electronic locks.

When one smartphone is paired with multiple electronic locks, thesmartphone gives a number and description to each electronic lock, andset unlocking passcode, locking passcode or passcode free unlocking. Formanaging the electronic lock number, description, passcode, rolling codeequation, the key software can give a list in large screen display,output to or input from computer. The computer can easily do themanagement, modification and calculation.

For utilizing the existing technologies of the cars and other remotecontrol keys, a mechanical panic button or software type panic button isarranged on the portable electric appliance. When it is found that asuspicious person tries to enter the car or the building, the panicbutton is pressed, and the car or the building gives an alarm. Inaddition, the portable electric appliance can further comprise one ormore of an existing technically-mature electronic device adopting remotecontrol key radio frequency communication, a remote control keyanti-theft chip and a remote control key pairing, setting and operatingsoftware to well achieve remote control function.

With respect to the electronic lock operating mode of the portableelectric appliance, key operation wireless communication mode andapproaching wireless communication mode are provided. Generally, keyoperation refers to key pressing operation, key shifting operation andknob turning operation. In the key operation wireless communicationmode, the electronic lock is unlocked or locked by simply pressingmechanical or software buttons. For different electronic locks andpasscode operations, one starts the key software, selects the electroniclock number and input the passcode to perform unlocking or locking.

In approaching wireless communication mode, bring the portable electricappliance close to the electronic lock within a certain distance, forexample, within 5 meters. The portable electric appliance automaticallyperforms communication with the electronic lock for unlocking. After theportable electric appliance is taken away from the electronic lock for aset time, for example, after 10 seconds, the electronic lock isautomatically locked. For different electronic locks, the portableelectric appliance automatically identifies the electronic lock numbersfor unlocking.

For a building, a garage, a safe cabinet and a safe box, an electroniclock is a door lock, a case cover lock, a motor starting switch lock andan air conditioner starting switch lock and the like. For the vehicles,the electronic lock is a door lock, an vehicle anti-theft system lock,an engine starting switch lock, an air conditioner starting switch lockand the like.

For the vehicle electronic lock, the portable electric applianceperforms one or more of the following key operations: (1) unlock or lockdoor lock with passcode or without passcode; (2) after unlock door lock,with passcode or without passcode, unlock engine anti-theft electronicsystem lock and directly start the engine; (3) after unlock door lock,with passcode or without passcode, unlock engine anti-theft electronicsystem lock, then within a set time, start the engine by pushing button,turning knob or shifting a switch with hand; (4) without unlocking doorlock, with passcode or without passcode, unlock engine anti-theftelectronic system lock and directly start the engine; (5) after startthe engine, with passcode or without passcode, directly start airconditioner; (6) before or after start the air conditioner, set airconditioning temperature.

In approaching operation of the portable electric appliance, do one ormore operation as follows: (1) when carrying portable electronicappliance close to an electrical door lock of vehicle or the building,the door lock gets unlocked automatically; (2) when carrying theportable electronic appliance close to a vehicle driving seat, engineanti-theft electronic system lock gets unlocked automatically, thenstart the engine by pushing button, turning knob or shifting a switchwith hand.

For different electronic locks, the key operation and the approachingoperation may be performed together, and the key software easilyperforms setting. For example, a person operates smartphone keys tounlock the car door lock, enters into the car with the phone, and sitson the driver's seat so that the phone and the car are in approachingcommunication, and the engine electronic lock gets unlocked; and theperson presses a button, twists a knob or shifts a switch with hand tostart the engine. By setting key software, key operation and approachingoperation can be selected or performed simultaneously. For an electroniclock, when the key operation and the approaching operation are performedsimultaneously, the key operation is prior to the approaching operation.

The portable electric appliance such as a smartphone can easily transmitsignal and receive data. In order to master the state data of theelectronic lock, an inquiring signal is transmitted to severalelectronic locks through key operation, and each electronic lock feedsback the current state and the history data, e.g. unlocking and lockingstate of the door lock, engine running state, air conditioner startingstate, air conditioner setting temperature, measured environmenttemperature, position information, recorder data and history datathereof and the like, of the electronic lock to the portable electricappliance after receiving the inquiring signal. If the car is stolen,since the mobile phone communication network covers most of the regionsaround the world where people often are and other regions like cities,villages, deserts and seas around the world, a smartphone can obtain theposition information of the car through the mobile phone communicationnetwork at any time, which helps to find the car. In addition, asmartphone can also obtain various running record data and history ofthe car through near field communication such as Bluetooth communicationmode to facilitate maintenance, malfunction analysis and accidentanalysis of the car.

For ease of unlocking and locking, the portable electric appliancecomprises unlocking and locking mechanical buttons that may be specialbuttons and also may play a role in other occasions. In the occasion ofa touch screen phone, a software touch button works only when the mobilephone is started. The mechanical button can work in both starting andsleep states of the mobile phone, and thus is useful.

When the portable electric appliance is used as a key, after inputtingthe passcode or recognizing the biometric characteristics, within a settime such as 5 minutes, the mechanical unlocking button may be used forunlocking operation whether the portable electric appliance is in thestarting state or the sleep state. In this way, both convenience withinthe set time and security outside the set time are obtained.

The various device components, modules, units, blocks, or portions mayhave modular configurations, or are composed of discrete components, butnonetheless can be referred to as “modules” in general. In other words,the “components,” “modules,” “blocks,” “portions,” or “units” referredto herein may or may not be in modular forms.

Other implementation solutions of the present disclosure will beapparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the present disclosure. This disclosure isintended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the presentdisclosure following the general principles thereof and including suchdepartures from the present disclosure as come within known or customarypractice in the art. It is intended that the specification and examplesbe considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

In the present disclosure, the terms “installed,” “connected,”“coupled,” “fixed” and the like shall be understood broadly, and can beeither a fixed connection or a detachable connection, or integrated,unless otherwise explicitly defined. These terms can refer to mechanicalor electrical connections, or both. Such connections can be directconnections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium.These terms can also refer to the internal connections or theinteractions between elements. The specific meanings of the above termsin the present disclosure can be understood by those of ordinary skillin the art on a case-by-case basis.

In the description of the present disclosure, the terms “oneembodiment,” “some embodiments,” “example,” “specific example,” or “someexamples,” and the like can indicate a specific feature described inconnection with the embodiment or example, a structure, a material orfeature included in at least one embodiment or example. In the presentdisclosure, the schematic representation of the above terms is notnecessarily directed to the same embodiment or example.

Moreover, the particular features, structures, materials, orcharacteristics described can be combined in a suitable manner in anyone or more embodiments or examples. In addition, various embodiments orexamples described in the specification, as well as features of variousembodiments or examples, can be combined and reorganized.

In some embodiments, the control and/or interface software or app can beprovided in a form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumhaving instructions stored thereon is further provided. For example, thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium can be a ROM, a CD-ROM,a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, optical data storage equipment, a flashdrive such as a USB drive or an SD card, and the like.

Implementations of the subject matter and the operations described inthis disclosure can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, orin computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed herein and their structural equivalents, or in combinations ofone or more of them. Implementations of the subject matter described inthis disclosure can be implemented as one or more computer programs,i.e., one or more portions of computer program instructions, encoded onone or more computer storage medium for execution by, or to control theoperation of, data processing apparatus.

Alternatively, or in addition, the program instructions can be encodedon an artificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., amachine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, whichis generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiverapparatus for execution by a data processing apparatus. A computerstorage medium can be, or be included in, a computer-readable storagedevice, a computer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial accessmemory array or device, or a combination of one or more of them.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any claims,but rather as descriptions of features specific to particularimplementations. Certain features that are described in thisspecification in the context of separate implementations can also beimplemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely,various features that are described in the context of a singleimplementation can also be implemented in multiple implementationsseparately or in any suitable subcombination.

Moreover, although features can be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination can be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingcan be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the implementations described above should not beunderstood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and itshould be understood that the described program components and systemscan generally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

As such, particular implementations of the subject matter have beendescribed.

Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. Insome cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in adifferent order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, theprocesses depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarilyrequire the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achievedesirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking or parallelprocessing can be utilized.

It is intended that the specification and embodiments be considered asexamples only. Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent tothose skilled in the art in view of the specification and drawings ofthe present disclosure. That is, although specific embodiments have beendescribed above in detail, the description is merely for purposes ofillustration. It should be appreciated, therefore, that many aspectsdescribed above are not intended as required or essential elementsunless explicitly stated otherwise.

Various modifications of, and equivalent acts corresponding to, thedisclosed aspects of the example embodiments, in addition to thosedescribed above, can be made by a person of ordinary skill in the art,having the benefit of the present disclosure, without departing from thespirit and scope of the disclosure defined in the following claims, thescope of which is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass such modifications and equivalent structures.

It should be understood that “a plurality” or “multiple” as referred toherein means two or more. “And/or,” describing the associationrelationship of the associated objects, indicates that there may bethree relationships, for example, A and/or B may indicate that there arethree cases where A exists separately, A and B exist at the same time,and B exists separately. The character “/” generally indicates that thecontextual objects are in an “or” relationship.

In the present disclosure, it is to be understood that the terms“lower,” “upper,” “under” or “beneath” or “underneath,” “above,”“front,” “back,” “left,” “right,” “top,” “bottom,” “inner,” “outer,”“horizontal,” “vertical,” and other orientation or positionalrelationships are based on example orientations illustrated in thedrawings, and are merely for the convenience of the description of someembodiments, rather than indicating or implying the device or componentbeing constructed and operated in a particular orientation. Therefore,these terms are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Moreover, the terms “first” and “second” are used for descriptivepurposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying arelative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technicalfeatures indicated. Thus, elements referred to as “first” and “second”may include one or more of the features either explicitly or implicitly.

In the present disclosure, a first element being “on” a second elementmay indicate direct contact between the first and second elements,without contact, or indirect geometrical relationship through one ormore intermediate media or layers, unless otherwise explicitly statedand defined. Similarly, a first element being “under,” “underneath” or“beneath” a second element may indicate direct contact between the firstand second elements, without contact, or indirect geometricalrelationship through one or more intermediate media or layers, unlessotherwise explicitly stated and defined.

Some other embodiments of the present disclosure can be available tothose skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification andpractice of the various embodiments disclosed herein. The presentapplication is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations ofthe present disclosure following general principles of the presentdisclosure and include the common general knowledge or conventionaltechnical means in the art without departing from the presentdisclosure. The specification and examples can be shown as illustrativeonly, and the true scope and spirit of the disclosure are indicated bythe following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A key and lock set for a vehicle, comprising: an electronic key without a built-in a power source; a lock openable by the electronic key but not openable by a mechanic key, having a power source shared with the electronic key; and an electronic key reader configured to read an identification of the electronic key wherein: the lock is configured to be opened by the electronic key upon the identification matches an identification of the lock; the identification of the electronic key and the identification of the lock are programmable and configured to be paired; the key and lock set is configured for a door; the key and lock set further comprises a keyboard mounted outside the door configured to access the lock by accessing from outside the door; the keyboard is not removable from outside the door; and the keyboard is removable from inside the door through a mounting fastener or a cover; and further wherein the keyboard comprises a plurality of buttons; each of the plurality of buttons having a light emitter and a light receiver adjacent to each other, wherein inside each of the light emitter and the light receiver, a lens or aperture is disposed adjacent to a light-emitting surface or a photosensitive surface, to reduce a light emission angle or a light receiving angle; and wherein upon the plurality of buttons being pointed to by a pointing object, a reflection of the pointing object causes light emitted from the light emitter to enter into the light receiver.
 2. The key and lock set of claim 1, wherein: the door is a vehicle or building door; and the keyboard is mounted on the vehicle or the building.
 3. The key and lock set of claim 2, wherein the keyboard is mounted outside the vehicle or the building at an area other than the door.
 4. The key and lock set of claim 2, wherein the keyboard is mounted outside the vehicle or the building at an area on the door.
 5. A key and lock, comprising: an electronic key without a built-in a power source; a lock openable by the electronic key but not openable by a mechanic key, having a power source shared with the electronic key; and an electronic key reader configured to read an identification of the electronic key; wherein: the lock is configured to be opened by the electronic key upon the identification matches an identification of the lock; the identification of the electronic key and the identification of the lock are programmable and configured to be paired; the key and lock set further comprises an optical electronic passcode input keypad configured to unlock the lock, wherein: the keypad comprises a plurality of buttons; each of the plurality of buttons has a light emitter and a light receiver adjacent to each other; inside each of the light emitter and the light receiver, a lens or aperture is disposed adjacent to a light-emitting surface or a photosensitive surface, to reduce a light emission angle or a light receiving angle; and upon the plurality of buttons being pointed to by a pointing object, a reflection of the pointing object causes light emitted from the light emitter to enter into the light receiver.
 6. The key and lock set of claim 5, wherein: the keypad further comprises a band-pass filter disposed adjacent to the photosensitive surface and configured to block ambient light with wavelengths different from wavelengths of the light from the light emitter; the light from the light emitter is high-frequency pulse light; the light receiver is configured to receive the high-frequency pulse light while filtering out the ambient light; the light emitter comprises a light-emitting diode (LED); and the light receiver comprises a photodiode or a phototransistor.
 7. The key and lock set of claim 6, wherein: the keypad is configured to be mounted inside a glass window of a vehicle or a building; and the pointing object is configured to point to the keypad from outside the glass window.
 8. The key and lock set of claim 7, wherein: the keypad is separate from the lock; the lock is configured to communicate with the keypad through a wire or wirelessly.
 9. A vehicle comprising the key and lock set according to claim
 1. 10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein: the keypad further comprises a band-pass filter disposed adjacent to the photosensitive surface and configured to block ambient light with wavelengths different from wavelengths of the light from the light emitter; the light from the light emitter is high-frequency pulse light; the light receiver is configured to receive the high-frequency pulse light while filtering out the ambient light; the light emitter comprises a light-emitting diode (LED); and the light receiver comprises a photodiode or a phototransistor.
 11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein: the keypad is configured to be mounted inside a glass window of the vehicle; and the pointing object is configured to point to the keypad from outside the glass window.
 12. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein: the keypad is separate from the lock; the lock is configured to communicate with the keypad through a wire or wirelessly.
 13. A vehicle comprising a key and lock set, wherein: the key and lock set comprises: an electronic key without a built-in a power source; a lock openable by the electronic key but not openable by a mechanic key, having a power source shared with the electronic key; and an electronic key reader configured to read an identification of the electronic key, wherein: the lock is configured to be opened by the electronic key upon said identification matching an identification of the lock; the identification of the electronic key and the identification of the lock are programmable and configured to be paired; the key and lock set is configured for a door; the key and lock set further comprise a keyboard mounted outside the door and is configured to access the lock by accessing from outside the door; wherein the keyboard is not removable from outside the door and is removable from inside the door through a mounting fastener or a cover; and further wherein the keyboard comprises a plurality of buttons; each of the plurality of buttons having a light emitter and a light receiver adjacent to each other, wherein inside each of the light emitter and the light receiver, a lens or aperture is disposed adjacent to a light-emitting surface or a photosensitive surface, to reduce a light emission angle or a light receiving angle; and wherein upon the plurality of buttons being pointed to by a pointing object, a reflection of the pointing object causes light emitted from the light emitter to enter into the light receiver.
 14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein: the door is a vehicle door; and the keyboard is mounted on the vehicle.
 15. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the keyboard is mounted outside the vehicle an area other than the door.
 16. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the keyboard is mounted outside the vehicle at an area on the door. 